Happy Star Wars Month everyone!

I've been away from fic writing for a long time, but I finally got back into it!

This story is a rewritten version of the original. After my writing break, I listened to the will of the Force and came up with some different directions for the story to go. I will leave the original up, but the new version will be different enough that I wanted to post it as its own fic.

Other than the new prologue, the four chapters are very similar to the original, but after that, things start to diverge significantly from the original.

I've got several more chapters in the pipeline, but wanted to get this new version up. Hope you enjoy, and stay tuned for more updates soon!

Thanks for reading! This is the May!

-Gatefanwho

Prologue

The winds of Ahch-To blew around the bearded, hooded form of Luke Skywalker.

The breeze was gentle and carried the salty taste of seawater beneath a sky full of white clouds and sunshine.

Peaceful. Serene. In balance.

But Luke's eyes and his senses focused farther than his verdant island or even its watery planet, to a distant spot in the blue sky. It appeared as nothing more than a tiny, sparkling dot, but it resonated with anything but peace, serenity, or balance.

Luke watched the sparkling pinprick of light in the noonday sky and meditated on his life.

Raised on a desert planet, he was seemingly destined for an ordinary life. But a chance encounter with the fascist Galactic Empire changed that forever.

While fighting alongside his friends against the Empire, he had learned the ways of the Force, the mystical energy created by all living things even as it bound them together and guided their fates. He had trained as a Jedi, the warriors of freedom and justice that once filled the galaxy.

He had learned the terrible truth that his father served the Empire and the dark side of the Force. But instead of bowing down under the weight of that revelation, he had stood taller and chosen love over hate, saving his father's soul in the end.

Decades of triumphs later, he forgot the lessons of his past, and in his hubris came to believe that no more shadows existed in his own soul. Those mistakes resulted in his greatest failure:

His nephew, Kylo Ren, joined the resurgent Empire that now called itself the First Order, and became an agent of the dark side of the Force.

So, as punishment, Luke cut himself off from that Force and exiled himself to this planet, once the birthplace of the Jedi but now a long-forgotten world. His punishment continued, yet it would never be enough to atone for his failure.

Now, inexplicably, that dot of light screamed at him in the language of the Force. Indirectly, in the way that a hole in a piece of fabric exists by its absence.

The dot was a wound in the fabric of the Force itself.

Luke knew without seeing that the wound was a storm in the void of space, with thunder and lightning and cyclones where none should be possible, a paradoxical maelstrom.

And the wound did scream: two words howling over and over in his mind.

Luke Skywalker. Luke Skywalker. Luke Skywalker.

The wound in the Force bore his name.

PART 1

Chapter 1: The Greatest Salvage of Her Life

On the desert world of Jakku, hope was scarcer than water. Yet that exact emotion fluttered in Rey's stomach as she brought her speeder to a gentle stop, gazing upwards at the crashed ship.

Its teardrop-shaped hull gleamed in the bright sun: a design unlike any she'd seen before. She assumed the craft was some sort of primitive rocket. Odd fins located on its aft seemed more appropriate for ballistic flight than true space flight.

Its uniqueness intrigued her, of course, but it was the ship's newness and completeness that excited her. For a scavenger like herself, nothing could compare with finding a ship whole, intact, and fresh off the assembly line.

Rey hopped off her speeder and felt the familiar sensation of her boots sinking into the ubiquitous sand. With her staff slung over her shoulder and her pack hanging from her hip, she trudged determinedly forward.

She stared through her protective goggles at what might be the biggest find of her life.

Slowly circling the ship, she smiled at the mismatched grooves in its hull plating, a sign of manual, sentient labor. Her fingers traced the bumps and grooves of the manufacturer tag tucked away near the ship's aft. Thruster engines jutted from the rear of the spacecraft like fat lumps, the sight of which caused her to shake her head in amusement at this ship's oddly unique design.

Then she saw something that caused her hungry smile to drop: On the ship's port side, a tiny, sand-smeared window revealed a cramped cockpit nestled near the middle of the ship, and inside that cockpit was the slumped, motionless form of a woman.

Rey immediately shifted into action. Her fingertips traced the hot metal of the ship's hull until she found what she was looking for: a deep, narrow groove curving along the front half of the ship.

As she suspected, this ship used a primitive, almost homespun design. Rough atmospheric reentry could easily break this ship's external seals, but, fortunately for the pilot still inside the thing, the cockpit could be forced open with enough leverage and pressure.

Wedging her staff into the groove, Rey placed a boot against the lower half of the ship's front and pushed down on her staff. She gritted her teeth and pushed harder, fingers gripping the weapon tightly in her hands. She knew she could easily crack her staff by using it in such a way, but she didn't stop. The female pilot inside might still be alive and in need of medical help.

Her staff didn't break, and at last, the cockpit roof separated from the ship's lower half, grinding slowly open like a happabore's lazy yawn.

Tossing her staff onto the ground, she climbed into the cockpit.

Cramped walls enclosed a chair big enough for only one person, and in the chair sat the young woman.

She appeared no older than Rey herself. Her eyes were closed. A nasty gash curved along her forehead, where dried blood painted the skin and stained her hairline.

Rey's hand reached out and pressed onto the woman's neck, searching for a pulse. When she found one beating steadily beneath her fingertips, she exhaled in momentary relief.

Something about the woman's pulse seemed strange, almost too fast for someone unconscious, but she could figure that out later.

She took a quick moment to study the girl further. Her long, blond hair hung behind her head in a simple ponytail that ran just past her shoulders. Her head tilted at an awkward angle, exposing a scrape surrounded by an ugly, darkening bruise that ran down the length of her neck. She wore a green shirt, black shorts, and high, black boots. A blaster nestled in a holster at her hip.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Rey found herself staring at the young woman's face. Petite jaw, delicate nose, smooth lips, and the fairest skin Rey had ever seen, gave the girl an aura of innocence Rey never imagined finding on Jakku.

She shook herself out of her trance and reminded herself that this woman needed her help.

Rey had just begun fumbling with the girl's harness when the woman suddenly jerked and began coughing, startling Rey. She watched, holding her breath, as the woman's eyes drifted open.

"Wh-where, where..." the young woman asked, voice dry and rasping.

"Shh, shh, it's okay," Rey murmured reassuringly, uncertain what else to say. "I'm here to help you. What's your name?"

"J-Jenny," the young woman croaked hoarsely. "Name's Jenny... I..."

Then her eyes slid shut again and her chin dropped onto her chest as she fell back into unconsciousness.

Rey knew she needed to work faster.

After finally succeeding in unfastening the safety harness, she slid her arms beneath Jenny's back and knees and heaved the woman out of her seat. Jenny's short, slender body made this easier. Rey carried the woman several steps from the ship and laid her on the ground.

She examined the woman for any other injuries, hands deftly running up and down Jenny's form. Aside from the head wound, Rey found only a collection of purpling bruises and a few minor cuts. As far as she could tell, Jenny had no broken bones.

After slinging the staff over her shoulder, she hauled the young woman into her arms again and carried her to her speeder. A few minutes and minor struggles later, Rey managed to seat Jenny behind her on the speeder.

She immediately wanted to return to the crashed ship and salvage something, but even as she thought about it, she knew it couldn't be. She had to get the young woman back to shelter, food, and water.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Rey strapped the woman's body to her own, powered her speeder on, and zoomed across the sea of blazing sand, leaving the greatest salvage of her life untouched behind her.